"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" Editing Exercise and Evaluation

Evalutation

When creating the music video, I have learnt that the filming of whole takes is essential for my final production. There must be whole takes from a variety of angles for example, high and low angles of the performers; using different movements including tracking, pan and tilt shots to ensure that there is a visually interesting variety. Whole takes also make it easier when the editing starts as it allows me to simply align the video and audio clips in one long strip as opposed to attempting to align various, smaller shots. Also, knowing the lyrics is important as bad lip syncing makes an otherwise well filmed music video, one of poor realism. In order for the music video to be believable, the performer needs to sing the song out loud along with the track during filming. There is no need to use microphone equipment as the audio track from the camera's microphone is later deleted in editing and the song's audio track replaces it. 

However when filming duets, other factors come into play. Performance is a key factor- the two must interact with one another, one shouldn't rely on the other for enthusiasm or good lip syncing. If one is performing badly, the entire video will be of poor quality. Framing is equally as important as performing - there are two people to work with so the mic has to be in the centre, with the two sharing equal amounts of space around it. 

Importing the files

The process of editing is relatively straight-forward. First, import the clips and audio. Once the files have imported, I can then view the clips; the ones that I wanted for my video were dragged over into the tracks program monitor using the "drag video only" tool. The clips are then aligned with the audio so the lip syncing is precise. Using the pen tool, the clips are faded in and out in time with the music to show shot variation. I have used fades throughout this task however for my final production, I should add some variation by using sharp cuts.

Fades using the pen tool

Drag video only tool

To improve, I need to film a broader variety of shots from a number of angles. I could also attempt a tracking shot to enhance the music video "feel" of my work. I need to work on the framing to avoid "off" shots. The shot below lacks the balance that I spoke about earlier; the microphone is off-centre and Conor (left) takes up slightly more room in the frame. 

Music video: